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The finalists of the tenth annual Somerset Business Awards have been announced by this year’s team of judges.

10 Years of recognising business excellence

Following a record number of Award entries, the judges have spent several days visiting companies of all sizes from a vast range of sectors, discussing their findings before selecting the finalists in each category.

The chosen companies now have an anxious wait to find out if they will be crowned as a 2014 Somerset Business Award winner on Friday 17 October, at the exclusive black tie celebratory dinner at the Westland Conference and Leisure Complex in Yeovil.

Shortlisted for a staggering three awards, Rich Clothier, Managing Director and third generation family member at Wyke Farms, says, “We’re utterly delighted to be shortlisted for three awards. It’s fantastic recognition for the team here at Wyke Farms. To be recognised up amongst some of the best in our region is a huge accolade for the business. It’s an honour for our team and the many businesses that we work with across the region – we would not have been able to achieve the great things that we have without their hard work.”

Bethan Baigent, from Glyder Ltd, was on the judging panel for the New Business of the Year Award and comments, “We received an extremely diverse and interesting range of entries this year, which is fantastic! It is incredibly exciting exploring the award entries, and really shows the passion new businesses have in Somerset. The judging process was difficult this year, but I’m confident we have some strong finalists and we wish them all the best of luck for the Awards evening.”

David Griffin, Managing Partner of Albert Goodman – the Somerset Business Awards’ main sponsor – adds, “The standard of entries has been absolutely incredible this year and we are honoured to judge so many fantastic businesses. Our finalists are those who have demonstrated innovation and long term succession planning – providing great foundations for the future. We look forward to celebrating with them in October.”

Rich Clothier concludes, “The Somerset Business Awards are so important to our business, because Somerset is such a fantastic brand in food and drink, not just in the UK but across the world now.”

Working together with Bridgwater College, the finalists will now be filmed by the colleges media students to create a short film about the business and what winning a Somerset Business Award would mean to them. This will be shown on the Awards evening and will form part of the students’ final course results.